Death by Broken Heart
by Lady Akuma Wolf
Summary: Alternate event. Aragon never made it to Helm's Deep before the attack. Legolas has sought the stillness atop a stone outcropping to die as his heart is literally torn in two over his grief for his departed best friend. Below him Gimli waits and worries.
1. A Terrible Price

A/N - Alternate event/AU. Legolas is dying after the battle of Helm's Deep. Aragorn never made it back before the battle. The loss of Aragorn was already killing him, and the self-loathing over not being able to bring down the torch-carrying Uruk down had merely sped things up. Will Legolas die from a broken heart before his friends can save him? Can they bring back Legolas from the brink of death when the Elf thinks all is lost?

NOTE: This is an Aragon/Legolas FRIENDSHIP, NOT SLASH!!

Read and Review, please!

5/29/07 UPDATE: - As some of my reviewers kindly pointed out I had some typos as far as the names of Aragorn and Isengard and the Elvish word for friend, mellon. The Elvish word I knew how to spell but my computer auto-corrected it. These have all been (hopefully) been corrected. THANK YOU!!!

Chapter One - A Terrible Price

Gimli stared out at the carnage both around and below his position. The sun, now completely above the eastern horizon cast its light onto the dead; Elves, Men and Uruk-Hai. The disgusting, evil creatures were far better this way, the Dwarf reflected. But the others…they didn't deserve this sad fate. Some of the surviving Men were sorting through the bodies of the dead, piling the Uruks together and torching them. The dead warriors - both Man and Elf - were gently set aside to be buried in the proper warrior fashion. There were so many. Their victory had come at a terrible price.

He shook his head sadly as he turned away from the sight. If Gandalf, Eomer and his men hadn't shown up what few survivors there were would never have made it, this Gimli was aware of. But even if they had arrived sooner, there was one soul they could never have hoped to have saved; Aragorn. The Ranger and heir to the throne of Gondor had died in a battle with Warg riders on the way to Helm's Deep, falling off a cliff so they couldn't even mourn over his body.

Sadly Gimli remembered the tortured look on the Elf's face when the dying Orc had taunted them about the death of their friend, Aragorn's pendant clutched in his dirty, clawed hand. The depth of anguish in Legolas' eyes when he realized his best friend was truly gone pained the Dwarf no end. During the battle at Helm's Deep the Elf had been at least partially able to ignore the pain of the loss. Until…

Gimli shook his head again and muttered a Dwarfish curse to himself as he remembered Haldir's frantic shouts to Legolas to bring down the huge Uruk who was carrying a blazing torch that was unfazed by the pouring rain. The Uruk was headed right for the small drainage culvert, the only imperfection of the whole wall. Legolas had fired two of his deadly arrows into the beast, but it never slowed. The resulting explosion killed many of Legolas' fellow Elves as well as many Men. It also allowed the Uruks to gain entry to Helm's Deep much more swiftly than merely breaching the wall by going over it.

And so after the battle the Elf had climbed atop one of the rocky spires near the highest point of Helm's Deep to grieve for the loss of his fellow Elves. But even more so over the loss of his best friend. None of the remaining Men would even dare to approach the area where the Elf was, let alone try and scale the stones to reach the grieving Elf.

Legolas had also sought solitude for one other reason; to die. But Gimli was unaware of that little detail.

/\/\/\

Legolas sat with his back to the stony outcropping of his refuge, one knee drawn up to his chest and the other bent and at an angle on the ground. His weapons - bow, quiver and knives - were cast carelessly aside on the ground a few feet away from him. The gray Elven cloak was pulled tightly around his thin frame, and the cowl pulled up.

Legolas' eyes were closed as his mind writhed mind in turmoil and real, physical pain tore at his heart. It was all his fault. He'd shot two arrows into the creature, Valar curse it! But it had not been enough. He had killed many of his fellow Immortal Beings as well as Men with his carelessness and lack of speed and strength. Aragon would not have missed that shot…

Aragorn. Legolas hated where his thoughts led him, to his closest friend. His _dead _closest friend. He could not think of a way he might have helped - no, _saved_ the Ranger, but there must have been something he could have done. Something…

Legolas felt pain growing in his heart, as if all the blades of Mordor and Isengard had been thrust into his chest simultaneously. Slowly, shakily, Legolas placed a hand to his heart. He knew what was going on. Long ago he and Aragorn had forged a friendship stronger than many could ever hope to have. Each would rather die hundreds of times over than to allow harm to come to the other. The power of their love for each other had bound their hearts closer than blood ever could have.

The Elf knew what he had been getting into - that he could very well be signing his own death warrant the day he had fully trusted the Man called Aragorn, a Ranger from the North as a close friend with his heart. He had known that it was possible that he would die out of grief and self-loathing were Aragorn to fall, and he could have done something - anything to stop it.

Legolas leaned his head back against the stones, eyes open to stare almost unseeingly at the sky. "Ai, Aragorn. Where are you now, mellon-nin? Has your soul found the rest and peace you deserve?" he whispered softly. "I pray it is so. You more than deserve the peace the good of heart receive within the Halls."

A blood red tear slowly ran down his pale cheek. Absently the Elf swiped his hand over it, only to blink in confusion when he saw the color of his own tear. Then he knew what was happening.

Unlike Aewen who was fading away because of her romantic love for Aragorn, Legolas' heart was being - quite literally - torn in two over his grief over Aragorn's death and because of the self-hate over being powerless to stop his friend's death. All because he loved Aragorn, his friend and brother.

True, the many deaths placed upon his head the moment he failed to bring down the Uruk with the torch also weighed down his heart, but nowhere near as much as the passing of his closest friend and brother.

More tears slowly fell unbidden from Legolas' pale eyes, all of them red. He kept a hand pressed to his heart as if that would ease the pain of his dying - and breaking - heart.

"Oh, Aragorn. Why did it have to end this way for us?" Legolas murmured. "Why did you have to die in this fashion, with your body unburied and your dreams and goals never realized?" The Elf choked. "Why did you have to fall? Why was I unable to save you? It should have been me…"

/\/\/\

Gimli could just barely see the Elf's cloak from his position on the catwalk below. "Legolas?" he called softly. "Lad? Won't you come down from there?"

No answer. No movement or acknowledgement at all. Not that the Dwarf had expected anything, though he had hoped. "I'm staying right here until you come back down, Master Elf!"

Still no answer. Not knowing whether Legolas had heard him or not and not caring, Gimli seated himself down to wait, whether it for was hours or even days. Nothing was too much for his new-found friend.

Please review if you want this continued!

/\Suicidal Black Butterfly/\


	2. The Rider

A/N - Well, here is chapter two. I want to apologize about my spelling errors in the first version of chapter one. I thought they looked wrong but I couldn't find any of the books and stupidly forgot to check on I did know how to spell 'mellon' but my computer corrects whatever it wants and this time I didn't catch it. And if you're wondering why Eomer's name doesn't have the mark over the 'E' it's because my computer won't do one. Sorry, peoples.

This chapter would have been posted last night, but I was graduating senior at a Strings Recital, and didn't get home until well after 10:30 PM and had to work this morning.

And since I forgot to do this in chapter one… I do not own any of the people, places, Elven language, etc. of LOTR and am not making any money off of it.

* * *

Chapter Two - The Rider

Eomer stood on the rampart overlooking the battlefield in front of Helm's Deep, eyes flinty with anger as he thought what had occurred there before he, his men and Gandalf had arrived. Many Men - and Elves, he reminded himself - had died to protect what they believed in, and to honor an age-old alliance. He wanted to shudder when his gaze fell on the gaping hole in the Wall. He had heard of Aragorns' Elven companion's desperate struggle to keep it from happening. Eomer could lay no blame on the Elven archer, whose name was Legolas, as he recalled. It had been no fault of the Elf that the Uruk was able to withstand two of his arrows. And even though he had failed to do that he had saved many others, and had braved the Uruk army and rode out with King Theoden to fight, knowing that they all would lose their lives.

Movement on the horizon brought Eomer's gaze snapping up from the Wall. Not another Uruk army, he thought desperately. As it neared his Mortal eyes made out a lone rider, riding hard. As he approached the stone causeway the man reined in his horse, staring at the damaged wall and the piles of smoldering Uruk bodies before urging the prancing animal onto the causeway.

When he was close enough for Eomer to see his face, he shouted, "Open the gate! Let him through!" before descending the stairs. He could not believe it…

A young stable boy with a bandage on his arm was leading the horse away when Eomer reached the rider. The man turned around as Eomer approached him, staring. "You - you're alive! How is that possible?"  
Aragorn, son of Arathorn gave the man a tired smile. "Guess I'm stronger than everyone thought." His smile faded as he looked sadly around them. "I see the Uruks reached here before I did. Every path Brego and I took was blocked by them, or impossible to get out of." He frowned as he looked around, finally realizing just how badly the battle had gone and what it had cost his friends. "Looks like the battle was a very close one."

Eomer nodded. "Yes. From what the king said those here before Gandalf, my riders and I arrived would've been dead if the Elves hadn't come to fight with them."

"Elves? Elves came to fight?" Aragorn demanded. "Who sent them, and where are they?"  
"Lord Elrond of Rivendell sent them." Eomer replied. Then his face took on an uncomfortable expression. "But… they all died before dawn. About half of them when the Wall was destroyed in an explosion."

Aragorn looked stricken. "All of them?" he whispered hoarsely. He turned away, looking down at the bodies being prepared for burial. Then he whirled around. "What about my Elven companion, Legolas? And the Dwarf, Gimli?"

When Eomer hesitated, Aragorn choked. "They're not dead too, are they?"  
"No, they both survived." Eomer assured the Ranger hurriedly. "But I - _we_ think the Elf is wounded. After the battle was over he climbed somewhere up there," - he turned and pointed to the rocky crag Legolas had taken refuge on - "and won't come down, even for Gimli, who has taken to guarding the catwalk that runs along there. And none of the surviving men have the skill to climb up to where he is and check on him. And even then it would take quite some convincing to get Gimli to allow them that close." He tried to reassure Aragorn with a smile. "I doubt that'll be the case with you."

Without another word Aragorn took off at a limping jog. He ignored the pain from his injuries; he needed to calm his heart. He needed to make sure both of his friends were alive and unharmed.

/\

Gimli was seated purposefully on a piece of the Wall that was nearly as big as he was that had been blown onto the catwalk, hands folded over his axe. He growled angrily when he saw someone coming around the corner. Jumping to his feet with his axe in hand, he growled, "Come no further, you, or I'll…" he trailed off as the man slowed to a walk as he approached him. Surprise lit his face. "Aragorn?" he asked in disbelief.

Aragorn halted in front of his friend. "Yes, Gimli, I'm alive, and will be well as soon as my body heals and I know that my friends are safe."

The smile faded from Gimli's bearded face like a candle being snuffed out. "Lad-" he began, "Lad, while I'm glad to see you and hear that you'll be okay, I don't think Legolas will recover as quickly."

Fear took a firmer hold on the Ranger's heart. "What happened to him? Where is he?"

Gimli turned and pointed up the cliff-face. "He went up there soon after the battle ended. After - after you fell he didn't look well but managed to hide it after a little while. I think after he failed to bring down the Uruk that set off the explosion it made him feel even worse. Not that he seemed alright after he lost you, hidden emotions or not." The Dwarf shook his head. "I don't even know if he's wounded or not. If he is then they haven't been looked at."

Aragorn undid his sword from his belt and handed it to Gimli. Then he started to climb.

* * *

A/N - Sorry if Theoden's name is misspelled…

And thanks again to the reviewers who corrected me on my bad spelling and typos in the first version of chapter one, all of which have hopefully been corrected. My computer LOVES to auto-correct my work which sometimes drives me to drink - though nothing alcoholic. Don't ever plan on doing that…

Anyway, please review, 'cause I know where to find you! ;)

/\Suicidal Black Butterfly/\


	3. Tears of Red

A/N – Sorry it took so long for me to update… see end A/N for why…

LOTR is not mine.

* * *

The rock was easier to climb than Aragorn had first assumed, allowing him to reach the ledge quickly. Levering himself up he could see the hem of an Elven cloak from around the rest of the cliff as it continued to reach for the sky.

"Legolas?"

No answer. Worried, Aragorn rounded the stone. The sight of his best friend shook Aragorn's heart far worse than he had ever thought possible. The cloak's cowl had been partially blown back to reveal blood-stained cheeks and half open, glazed Elven eyes.

Aragorn quickly knelt down next to Legolas. Fearful, Aragorn hesitantly touched the Elf's shoulder. "Legolas? Can you hear me?"

Legolas did not answer. He did not move at all or give any sign that he had heard the Ranger speak. Aragorn gently touched the Elf's cheek, deathly pale under the streaks of blood. It was as cold - no. It was colder than ice.

Glancing over Legolas' body Aragorn did not see any obvious signs of injury, but that did not mean anything. Some poisons needed only the smallest contact with the bloodstream or even bare skin to take effect. Not to mention the gaseous ones.

"Aragorn? Is he okay?"

Aragorn glanced over the edge at the worried Dwarf. "I'm not sure, Gimli. He's unconscious right now. I'm going to bring him down and examine him. Think you can catch his weapons?"

Knowing that the Elf would murder him for damaging his prized weapons, Gimli gulped but nodded, leaning Aragorn's own sword against the wall. Aragorn tossed the bow down first, which was easy enough to catch. The quiver with the two long knives was a bit more of a problem, but not by much. Gimli loaded them all onto his back, grabbed the sword and waited for Aragorn and Legolas.

Aragorn slowly scooped his friends' limp body into his arms and then over one shoulder. Trying not to think of how he'd carried Frodo in the same manner not long ago, Aragorn slowly descended from the Elf's chosen refuge.

Reaching the catwalk Aragorn was greeted by Gimli who peered at the Elf. "There's blood on his cheeks!" he cried out. "And you call that unsure if he's hurt or not?"

Shifting Legolas' light body into his arms, he gave Gimli a stern look. "Lower your voice, Gimli. The blood on his face is tears."

Gimli looked shocked as they headed for the main structure of Helm's Deep. "Tears of _blood_?" he whispered. "What would cause that in an Elf?"

Aragorn didn't answer; he didn't know himself.

* * *

King Theoden himself met Aragorn as he entered the hall bearing the limp Elf and trailing an irate and worried Dwarf loaded with weapons.

The king stared at him. "So what the men are saying is true," he said, bowing his head slightly to Aragorn. "You did survive your fall. The Rangers of the North must be resilient indeed for you to have survived a fall like that."

Then Theoden's gaze fell on what Aragorn cradled protectively in his arms. "He vanished soon after the battle ended, but he fought with the courage of many men, and with I fear no worry about preserving his own life; no fear of his own death." Theoden motioned for them to follow him. "Come. You may use my personal quarters to care for him."

Aragorn looked at him sharply. "'No worry about preserving his own life'?" he demanded softly as he followed the king. "What are you talking about?"

"The look on his face when I said to leave the dead looked like he either wanted to kill me or throw himself off the cliff after you, Aragorn." Theoden replied. "You have a very strong bond of friendship with him, do you not?"

"Yes," Aragorn whispered as Theoden led them into a medium-sized room, complete with a bed and two chairs. "Yes, we do."

An examination of the unconscious Elf revealed nothing other than the occasional bloody tear that still fell from his pale eyes which were staring quite unblinkingly, trance-like ahead. His body temperature also continued to drop, and his breathing grew shallower and sporadic.

Legolas now rested on the bed covered in as many blankets as could be spared, which, sadly, were very few. Gimli sat in one of the chairs next to the bed, his dark eyes rooted on his friend. Occasionally he would place a damp cloth over Legolas' open eyes to keep the moist. The Elf's quickened breathing when this was done was the only thing that kept Aragorn and Gimli from keeping them covered. Faintly Aragorn remembered one of Legolas' few fears was of losing his sight.

Aragorn was pacing as sunlight faded to darkness, visible through the single slit window of the room. The Ranger was running over what few symptoms his best friend was showing and trying to find a viable explanation for it all. He had barely taken the time to tend his own injuries, choosing to instead spend his time trying to figure out what was wrong with his best friend.

Gimli straightened in his seat suddenly. "Aragorn!" he called, softly but anxiously. "I think he's waking up! Leastways, I think he's speaking. Sounds like Elvish."

Aragorn rushed over to the bed. Sure enough, Legolas' lips were moving, whispering words in Elvish with breaths that sounded forced and painful. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Aragorn placed a hand on each of the Elf's shoulders, shaking him gently.

"Legolas, wake up. Please, wake up, my friend. Legolas?"

Leaning forward slightly, Aragorn began to understand just what Legolas was saying.

"…And lost you to darkness.

I was supposed to be your guardian angel

But lost you; didn't even get to say farewell

Promised myself to never let you fall

But I didn't count on Fate's deathly call

Forgive me, my friend, for I failed

Now may my sight of the stars forever be veiled

Never shall I cross the sea

Just hope your spirit always remains free

How could I have failed to save you?

It is because of me dawns' lighting is a blood-red hue

Can't hold on to myself for much longer

Always wishing I had been stronger

Stepping gladly forward to receive my punishment

Oh, my friend, upon my what is your judgment?

We were together through whatever Fate and Time chose to bring

I would never have changed that anything

Stepping off the cliff with my angel wings tucked in

Ending this pain coming from within

Dawns' coming will hear my mourning cry

As I breathe my last and sigh

Our friendship story has been told; it is time

It has ended with bells ringing Death's chime

It is time for me to fade

Facing the eternal pain, touching naught a blade

Didn't mind the consequence of giving you my trust, my heart

You will always be my hope even as death us part

My life fades along with my soul

Weeping tears of red for the one Death stole

Whispering as I breathe my last

Saying goodbye to one who has passed

I love you, my friend and my brother

Please forgive me for failing you."

"Legolas, NO!"

* * *

A/N – To those of you whom I told that I would be updating that weekend (last weekend) I apologize. The writing program on my laptop refused to open up anything that I had written so I had to install a new one last night. As you can all see it is working.

I'm not happy about the lament Legolas recites in this chapter, since - to me - it doesn't sound Elvish, but it was the best I could do.

Don't forget to review, please!


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